The Game

Review: Victor (no last name) is a professional contract killer, who lives a solitary, peaceful life in Iceland when not on assignment. But he is now. Hired by an unidentified Swiss broker to murder another contract killer, Dutchman Felix Kooi, he does just that in Algiers. But he is then coerced by the CIA, one of his regular employers, to pose as the man he has just killed in order to identify the client who hired Kooi and reveal who his victim was supposed to be, in The Game, the third thriller in this series by Tom Wood.

Victor prefers to work alone, or if another person is needed, he chooses who he will work with. That won't be the case here. When Victor (as Felix Kooi) is contacted, he is not told what his contract will be, other than he will be joined by others to form a team. Each would have a specific task to perform, and then and only then would he be given his target. He cannot back out but given the parameters of the assignment, his future is uncertain. For a man who lives by the adage, "Forget the past; one can only survive the future by concentrating on the present", this is a dangerous position to be in.

The Game is a strongly plotted story, exciting and thrilling from beginning to end. Full of international intrigue, one is never quite sure what Victor will do next and what the outcome of whatever it is might be. Cool under fire and always the professional, Victor is a compelling "good bad guy". Definitely recommended for readers who enjoy their action nonstop and unpredictable.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Game.

Acknowledgment: Penguin Group provided an ARC of The Game for this review.